


Modest Doubt

by lasersheith



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Disaster gay Shiro, First Date, Fluff, M/M, Post Season 7, oblivious keith, shiro is an honorary holt fight me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 16:53:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15934550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasersheith/pseuds/lasersheith
Summary: From the prompt: Shiro and Keith's first date on Earth after season 7“It's so peaceful out here. Forgot how much I missed it,” Keith mused idly, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.On a logical level, Shiro knew he should have found it appalling, but for reasons he didn't care to further explore, the thought of crumbs and juice that had once been on Keith's mouth littering his old jacket had his mouth running dry. He sipped at his bottle of water to buy himself more time to remember how to speak.“Yeah, it's really nice,” Shiro finally agreed quietly.





	Modest Doubt

**Author's Note:**

> ‘To be wise and love, Exceeds man’s might’  
> (Troilus & Cressida – Act 3, Scene 2)

Shiro thought about flexing the fingers on his right hand and smiled as the prosthetic responded just like his left. With every adjustment one of the Holts made it became more and more natural.

Matt peered around the field emitter at the blinding smile on Shiro's face and answered with one of his own. “Mom’s already working on the flexibility issue, but that should tide you over for a bit.” He patted Shiro's back as he stood.

“You guys are the best, really. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this.” Shiro replied, gesturing with his new arm.

Matt gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Stop, you're family. It's what we do.”

Shiro chuckled and looked down at his lap. “I was actually wondering if you could help me with something else. Non-tech related.” His voice came out quietly and unsure- nothing like his normal commanding tone.

Matt pulled a stool up next to the lab table and sat down. “Sure, whatcha got?” He didn't hesitate before agreeing.

“Do you…” Shiro trailed off, mouth running dry. He cleared his throat and tried to start again. “Would it be weird if… if I asked Keith out on a date?” He couldn't meet Matt's eyes and already felt his face heating up.

Matt was quiet for a long moment. “Shiro… you're joking, right?” He asked incredulously.

Shiro buried his face in his hands. “I know, I know. But I can't stop thinking about him, I don't know…” He let out a frustrated sigh.

“Dude, he's your best friend and he loves you. Of course you should ask him out.” Matt’s tone heavily implied the _you idiot_ that he tactfully left unsaid.

Shiro looked up in surprise. “Really?” He gasped more than asked.

Matt laughed. “Absolutely.”

* * *

Matt's encouragement had him feeling a lot better about the idea over the course of the week. He managed to make it through three more days of meetings and training before Friday afternoon finally found him at the door to Keith's quarters.

His old favorite leather jacket hadn't really fit, but he'd been able to cobble together a casual outfit from what had been left in storage and a few things Iverson had managed to find for him. The jacket was slung over his left arm as he knocked on the door with his right. It made him chuckle a little as he realized he was standing farther away than his other arm would have been able to reach.

Keith answered with a soft smile that never failed to send Shiro's heart racing. “Hey, didn't expect you.” He opened the door and held out his hand for Shiro to come inside.

 _Ok, it's just Keith. Just… be normal._ Shiro coached himself as he walked into the living room. He turned and held the jacket out. “I was going through my old stuff and realized this wouldn't fit anymore. I didn't have the heart to get rid of it. You wouldn't happen to want it, would you?” He asked tentatively, trying to remember how to breathe as Keith's eyes lit up.

“Definitely!” Keith answered reaching for it. “You sure you don't want it though? For sentimental value or whatever?” He asked, stopping short.

Shiro felt his face heating up and tried to keep himself calm. “I can't wear it, and it would mean a lot to me,” he paused to lick his dry lips, “to see you in it.”

Keith smiled and pulled the jacket on over his t-shirt. “Fits great.”

On some logical level Shiro had known that the sight would take his breath away, but seeing it in person was all together different. “Wow,” he gaped.

Cheeks flushing, Keith cleared his throat. Shiro mimicked him and stood up straighter. “I remember when you borrowed it after we got caught in that freak storm, it looked like a dress on you,” Shiro said with an awkward laugh.

He knew it wasn't the right thing to say as Keith crossed his arms and looked away. “Speaking of, uh, back then,” he continued, stammering, “I had some cadets fix up our old bikes, I was thinking maybe we could go ride? If you’re not busy.”

Keith’s demeanor brightened immediately. “Yeah, maybe after dinner?”

Shiro rolled his shoulder in a half-shrug and chuckled awkwardly. “Well maybe we could bring a… a picnic dinner? Eat out on the cliffs, watch the sunset,” he suggested tentatively, rubbing the back of his neck.

Eyebrows raising, Keith considered for a moment. “Yeah, could be fun. Let’s do it.” He smiled and nodded.

“Great, that’s,” Shiro answered breathlessly with an awed smile, “great.”

After a brief, awkward pause, Keith frowned. “Might have to raid the commissary for picnic stuff. I don’t think I have anything.”

Shiro’s cheeks flushed. “I… I already have a basket made up in my room,” he admitted quietly.

Keith blinked at him owlishly. “Oh.” Silence stretched between them as they looked into each other’s eyes for a moment before Keith smiled. “That was really thoughtful of you.”

Shiro shrugged, desperate to change the subject. “I already had pretty much everything laying around, it was no big deal. Anyway, we can just swing by my room on the way to the garage and grab it.”

Keith bit his lip and Shiro couldn't tear his eyes away from Keith’s mouth as it slid through his teeth. “Do you care if I wear this?” He gestured towards the jacket.

He knew the feeling of his soul leaving and entering a physical form, and the way he felt in that moment was eerily similar. “Please,” he said in an awed whispered before pretending to cough into his fist, “please feel free to wear it whenever you want. It’s yours now.” He finished with a soft smile, equal parts excited and terrified to see Keith riding in his old jacket.

Keith returned his smile and nodded. “Lead the way.”

After a quick stop by Shiro’s room for the picnic basket, they set off for the garage. It was mostly empty so late in the afternoon on a Friday and they were able to grab their goggles and keys from the quartermaster with no trouble.

Shiro watched as Keith inspected his bike reverently, trailing a hand across the gleaming chassis in adoration while he double checked that it was ready to ride. “Kids did a good job,” he concluded approvingly, swinging his leg up to position himself on the seat.

He turned his head and caught Shiro standing by his own bike, goggles in hand, making no move to mount it. “Yours ok?” Keith asked, gesturing with his head.

“Yeah, sorry just,” he wracked his brain for an excuse that wasn't _staring at you,_ “feeling a little nostalgic.” He laughed awkwardly as he pulled his goggles on and tried to adjust his floating prosthetic comfortably on the handlebars.

He looked back up to let Keith know he was ready, and the shy smile he was met with stole the air from his lungs. “Ready, old timer?” He asked with a grin.

Shiro laughed. “Lead the way,” he replied fondly.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon when they finally stepped off their bikes. They were on top of a high mesa, overlooking the beautiful desert landscape that stretched out for miles far below. Shiro smiled to himself as he carefully laid out the blanket on the ground and set the basket towards the middle. Keith dragged his goggles up over his forehead and stretched out on the blanket like a cat in a sunbeam.

Shiro grabbed his phone from his pocket and snapped a picture, not trusting his memory to immortalize such a perfect image with the detail it deserved. The shutter clicked and Keith’s eyes snapped open, staring up at Shiro in shock for a long moment before he laughed. “Come sit down, we’ll take one together.” He patted the spot next to him.

Thankful for the goggles still covering his rapidly darkening cheeks, he took the spot Keith indicated and held his phone up to get a picture of both of them. Keith laughed and slid Shiro’s goggles down to rest around his neck. “Can’t even see your face,” he teased, scooting closer to Shiro’s side and smiling as Shiro fumbled with his phone, blush stretching from the tips of his ears to his jaw. He snapped the picture and held his phone down so Keith could see it.

“Might need some aloe for that sunburn, but it turned out good,” he said distractedly, leaning over to pull the sandwiches and sliced fruit out of the basket. “Send it to me?”

Shiro watched him pop a chunk of melon into his mouth. He snapped his jaw shut and forwarded the picture before grabbing his own sandwich. They sat in comfortable silence, munching away and watching as the sun slowly waned.

“It's so peaceful out here. Forgot how much I missed it,” Keith mused idly, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

On a logical level, Shiro knew he should have found it appalling, but for reasons he didn't care to further explore, the thought of crumbs and juice that had once been on Keith's mouth littering his old jacket had his mouth running dry. He sipped at his bottle of water to buy himself more time to remember how to speak.

“Yeah, it's really nice,” Shiro finally agreed quietly.

Keith turned to smile at him again and he felt his stomach tumble with butterflies. His pulse raced in his neck as he thought about leaning in to press their lips together, but Keith stood and stretched before he worked up the nerve.

With a yawn, Keith knelt back down on the blanket and started tidying up their trash. Shiro gathered what was closest to him and tossed it in the basket as well. “We should probably get back before it gets dark,” Keith said as he held out a hand to help Shiro up.

They’d taken each other's hands a hundred times before, but it felt different that time. Shiro couldn't recall his palm ever being so sweaty before and he was immeasurably thankful Keith was wearing gloves. He stood without letting go for what felt like an eternity, more than content to just stand in the dying sunlight so close to Keith's warmth.

“You ok?” Keith asked, brows furrowing in concern.

Shiro dropped his hand and bent down to collect the blanket. “Yeah, sorry. Just lost in thought I guess.” He chuckled uncomfortably.

Keith didn't say anything, just moved around the other side of the blanket to help him fold. Shiro brought the basket and blanket to his bike and tucked them into the storage compartment.

He almost jumped out of his skin as a hand landed unexpectedly on his shoulder. “Thanks for all this, it's been fun.” Keith said from behind him, the smile ringing clearly in his voice.

“I'm glad you could come,” Shiro replied, turning around with determination. He'd been too nervous and too slow to make his move on the blanket, but he wouldn't let another opportunity slip by.

Keith was still smiling as he turned around, but broke out into a laugh when their eyes met. “How did you get mustard on your eyebrow?” Keith all but cackled.

Shiro was about to accuse him of lying, but he reached up a thumb and swiped the yellow smudge from Shiro's face. He stared at the evidence, dumbfounded. Watching as Keith wiped a stain into his jeans, he cleared his throat. “Uh, thanks.” He rubbed his hand over his forehead again just to be sure.

Keith slipped his goggles back on and jumped onto his bike. “Race ya back to base?” He asked with a smirk.

Shiro laughed. “Ok, you're on!” Embarrassment and disappointment at another missed opportunity fell by wayside at the prospect.  

Keith was already heading towards the winding path leading down the mesa by the time Shiro had kicked his bike into gear. They flew down the narrow outcroppings of rock, blazing by jagged edges and hopping to lower trails where they could.

Shiro knew he’d have no chance to overtake Keith when they got to the open desert, Keith was lighter and much steadier on his bike than Shiro’s bulk and unfamiliar new grip allowed. He took a risk sliding down a ledge that was just a little too high and bounced the tail of his bike unforgivingly against the rough ground.

It slowed him down just enough that Keith made up for the distance by sliding off a few meters farther afield, timing his jump perfectly to avoid Shiro’s fate. They were both laughing as they pulled into the garage.

“Ok, but I demand a rematch once Colleen gets a crack at my arm,” he taunted, wagging the prosthetic in Keith’s direction.

Keith smirked. “Yeah sure, old man. Blame it on the arm,” He closed one eye and stuck his tongue out at Shiro as he pulled off his goggles.

Shiro slugged him gently in the shoulder. “I thought you were supposed to respect your elders,” he said with another laugh.

Keith shook his head as they handed the goggles and keys back to the quartermaster. “Massive deja vu,” he explained to Shiro’s raised eyebrow.

Rubbing the back of his neck with a fond grin, Shiro nodded. “Yeah, I think we had that exact fight a hundred times. You never used to kick my butt so bad, though.”

Keith’s smug grin had Shiro’s knees feeling suddenly weak. “Had to happen sooner or later,” he punctuated with a yawn and stretch. “Man, I’m beat.”  

“I’ll walk you to your room,” Shiro offered, feeling the heat of a blush creeping onto his face.

Keith shrugged, expression still light and fond. “Sure.”

The short walk to Keith’s section of the barracks went by quickly as Shiro tried to work up the nerve to make up for his lack of courage when they were eating. He still didn’t have much of a gameplan by the time they stopped outside of Keith’s room.

“Keith, I,” Shiro swallowed hard and looked down at the floor between them. “I had a really nice time today. I hope we can do it again soon?” His voice was hushed and timid.

Keith beamed back at him. “Yeah definitely,” he replied warmly.

Shiro looked up with a hopeful smile in time to see Keith holding up his hand in a small wave. “G’night, Shiro!” He called cheerfully.

Shiro watched forlornly as Keith walked through his door without looking back.

He only made it a handful of steps down the hallway before gently resting his forehead against the wall, tapping it there lightly a few times. He wasn’t sure where things had gone so wrong that Keith would rush back into his room like that. Had he been too forward? Not forward enough? Keith did say that he wanted to go out again, but Shiro kicked himself for not making further plans right away. His head rapped against the wall again as he thought to himself, _is tomorrow morning too soon to call and ask?_

He replayed the evening in his mind over and over again, thankful that no one had come down the hallway in the several minutes he spent fretting. It wasn’t exactly his most heroic look.

Keith’s door opening startled him back from the cool metal and he turned to watch as Keith sprinted past, a mix of horror and determination on his face. He skidded to a stop at the spilt and turned around, running back to pause in front of Shiro, taking a moment to collect himself.

He studied Shiro’s face piercingly for a moment, brows furrowed. Shiro was worried he could hear the pounding from his heart doing its best to reconfigure his ribcage. “Was that a date?” Keith blurted, the question burning intensely in his eyes.

Shiro’s jaw dropped. “Uh,” his mouth felt like he’d swallowed half the desert. “It was supposed to be?” He’d meant to state it more decisively, but Keith’s demeanor washed over him as a harbinger of the rejection he felt sure was coming.

Keith’s cheeks bloomed with a blush so deep it shamed any cherry blossom. “Oh,” he replied quietly. The strained silence stretched down the deserted hallway and their breaths seemed to echo. “So we’re… dating?”

Static erupted in the portion of Shiro’s brain that was dedicated to speech. “If, if you want to be dating,” Shiro finally managed to rip from his traitorous vocal chords.

Keith’s expression softened and the furthest edges of his lips ticked up minutely. “Yeah,” He breathed more than said.

“Great,” Shiro replied, cheeks straining under the force of his grin.

A silence no less uncomfortable but much less nerve-wracking overtook them as they locked eyes. “Well… good. I mean, good night.” Keith stammered, holding out his hand between them. He looked mortified as soon as he realized what he’d done; Shiro could sympathize.

Shiro chuckled and took it, marvelling for a moment at how his new prosthetic hand dwarfed Keith’s before pulling him in for a hug. The smell of desert and old leather and Keith’s shampoo washed over him. Shiro let his left hand linger on the small of Keith’s back as he turned his head to brush his lips lightly against Keith’s cheek.

He heard Keith swallow hard as he stepped away, lopsided smile and wonder-widened eyes making his face seem years younger. “See you… tomorrow,” He put his hand over his cheek and turned woodenly towards his room.

“Good night, Keith,” Shiro called as Keith threw open the door, holding a hand out in a parting wave as he disappeared over the threshold.

Shiro chuckled into the empty hallway and let his shoulders rest against the wall. Somehow managing to hold back the disbelieving whoop of joy that threatened to spill from his mouth, he pushed himself forward and started the short walk back to his room.

Rounding the corner still in a dreamy haze, he heard the unmistakable sound of boots slamming into the floor behind him. He wheeled and dropped back into a defensive position on instinct but relaxed when he saw Keith emerge and nearly barrel into his chest.

He managed to catch Keith by the shoulders before they collided. “Is everyth-”

His question was cut off by Keith’s lips pressing into his urgently. A gasp of surprise quickly faded into a moan as Keith tilted his head and licked insistently into Shiro’s mouth. Their teeth clacked together jarringly before they found a steady rhythm.

Lungs burning, Shiro pulled away and blinked the stars from his eyes. Keith licked his lips and then wiped them with the back of his sleeve. “I have no idea what I’m doing.” He admitted quietly.

Shiro laughed and pulled him closer. “Just pretend you do, always seems to work for me,” he teased, nudging the side of Keith’s head with his nose. Keith’s posture remained stiff and uncomfortable. “You’re doing fine so far,” he whispered.

Keith let out a quiet snicker and melted into Shiro’s embrace again. He backed away with a shake of his head. “Ok, I’m really going to bed now.”

Shiro smiled at him fondly and held out his hand. “I’ll walk you to your room.”

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me [on tumblr!](https://lasersheith.tumblr.com/)


End file.
